Category Marvel

The Hulk and Spider-Man in Murdermoon

After more than a year’s absence I am continuing the Literary Hulk series. To the threeor four people who read the series, I hope you enjoy the new review. So without further ado here is the review.

This book has several important ‘last things’ behind it. First off, it is was the last book in the Marvel Novel Series that ran between 1978 and 1979. This book would also be the last appearance of the Incredible Hulk in prose fiction in until the Peter David’s novel What Savage Beast came out in 1995. There is nearly a 16 gap between them. It is the eleventh book for the series. There was going to a twelfth book featuring the Silver Surfer but allegedly Stan Lee did not want anyone else to write the character. Not sure if this has been confirmed. Finally it was Paul Kupperberg’s last novel for Marvel. He had previously done one Spider-Man book for the series called Crime Campaign. Not having read that book there is no not much I can say about it. It was also a first. This book was the first Hulk and Spider-Man team up novel. There would be a second one in 1996, Spider-Man and Incredible Hulk Rampage (Doom’s Day Book One).

Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk as they appeared on the TV screen in 1979

What about the book itself? Well… the book is uneven. Kupperberg himself has basically disowned it as a hack work that he wrote under a two week deadline. And there are a number of plot holes and inconsistencies that will be mentioned above. This was written in haste and in places, it shows. Starting with the first chapter we see one of these problems. The first chapter is the Hulk being attacked in the desert. This chapter, like the second with Spider-Man, introduces the character and his abilities for those unfamiliar with him. The problem is we are never given any reason why the military are attacking him. It is written merely to show off the Hulk’s amazing physical abilities. Even more confusing, Dr. Banner is not treated like a criminal but gives his name freely to many people throughout the story. The second chapter introduces us to Spider-Man. It is more relevant to the main story and gets the ball rolling. Spidey discovers a break in that is connected with NASA rocket research. This is what the plot of the story is about. It also gives a good profile of his sarcastic quipping but compassionate personality. Decent enough.

After that we get to the sections of the book that show the lives of the heroes’ alter
egos. Here Kupperberg seems a bit off with Peter Parker. He is acting more like his Spider-Man persona in his everyday identity. These scenes are at the Daily Bugle with J. Jonah Jameson and Robbie Robertson and the rest of the staff.

After that we are given a few chapters of Dr. Banner trying to start a new life in a small town. What does not make sense is that he gives his real name but nobody knows who he his. This is odd given that; 1. The Hulk would be well known by this point and 2. If he was important enough to merit the military coming after him he must have done something attention worthy. When he sees an ad in the paper offering a cure for gamma radiation in Chicago, he jumps at the chance. It will probably not surprise the reader that this does not work out. Meanwhile Peter is hired as a photographer on the story of a used space station that is reentering the Earth’s atmosphere and supposed to be retrieved by NASA. As some of you guessed this is related to the main mad scientist style plot. It will also intersect with the Hulk plot later on. Peter is teamed up with a science writer though why he could not be the science writer for the Bugle with his credentials is never brought up.

Without giving away spoilers this reviewer will say this a long and not entirely convincing plot involving scientists working for a rich patron with plans for world domination. Far too convoluted to be convincing. I will not go into the details for those who want to read the book. There are some interesting points of note however, first the space station’s name is similar to Skylab, the premier United States space station (in fact pieces had started starting falling just a few months prior to the release of the book, so that was probably a inspiration for Kupperberg).

Second it deals with the concept of a laser beam weapon orbiting space. This is before former president Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars Defense Initiative -in fact it is before his presidency. It would be interesting to ask Kupperberg if he had read about the concept somewhere. The other original thing in this book was using the laser weapon in space to target human beings on earth for murder. This was used in the 1985 movie Real Genius. Once again it is hard to say whatever these ideas have a common source or the writer’s of the movie were copying the book or maybe came up with the idea independently themselves. I am assuming since a moon is called a satellite and we have a laser-killer orbiting satellite in this book, that was why it was called MurderMoon.

Mr. Kupperberg if you are reading this would you mind taking the time to answer these few questions for us?

There is more to the story. A murder attempt of the superheroes by tying them to a rocket ship. Personally I cannot fault Kupperberg for this since so much popular fiction involves silly death traps, but why is it that nobody ever tries a bullet to the head? Nor do they try to unmask Spider-Man to find out who he is. Would they not be at least a little
curious? And finally despite my harping on his plot there was a interesting scene near the end between Spider-Man and Dr. Banner. It is interesting because it is true to the characters and it also shows the different approaches to life they have. Spider-Man is more optimistic while Bruce has a outlook that nothing can go right for him and his situation is hopeless. Him telling Bruce he should not give into despair is probably the best written part of the book.

Does this review recommend the book? Well I give it a cautionary yes. Accept it to for a simple action adventure novel. One that could have been a bit more carefully plotted but a quick read that will hold your interest.

Mark Ricard

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If you’re like me, you get nervous with each addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With 13 films preceding it, Doctor Strange has a lot to live up to. While the movie opens this Friday, reviews are of course already in hand. And they are glowing.

Each ‘phase’ of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Strange is the second installment of ‘phase 2’) has further developed the rich universe of characters. Back in the early days of Marvel Comics, one of the most interesting innovations was that the heroes and villains all inhabited the same world (and in most cases the same city). This meant that the Fantastic Four could be called in by the military to hunt down the Hulk or Dr. Doom could catch Spider-Man. Whereas traditionally, characters existed in a vacuum, the Marvel characters mingled.

In addition to new heroes and villains, each new monthly comic added a different dimension to the Marvel Universe, be it the espionage of Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., the teenage school setting of the X-Men, Peter Parker’s high school hi-jinx in Spider-Man, the far-out exploring of the Fantastic Four, the legal drama of Daredevil, the technical innovation of Iron Man or even the weirdly mystical realm of Doctor Strange. It’s heartening to see this approach, which was so successful in grabbing the attention of readers in the 1960’s, succeed again with the movie-going public today.

While Thor introduced fantasy and Guardians of the Galaxy added the science fiction elements, Doctor Strange is going to take us to another world altogether. And from the reviews so far, it’s one that fans are eager to enter.

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Created as a horror hero in Werewolf By Night by Doug Moench and Don Perlin, Moon Knight may appear as a Batman archetype on the surface, but he is far more complicated under the silly costume and moon-shaped ‘batarangs.’

A soldier of fortune, Marc Spector discovered the temple of the Egyptian god Konshu during a mission to loot the nearby treasure. Betrayed by his employer and left for dead, Spector is resurrected by the worshipers of Konshu and reborn as an avenger of the night, the ‘Fist of Konshu.’

After returning to the US, he creates two identities, a millionaire playboy Steven Grant and the taxicab driver Jack Lockley. These numerous alternate identities coupled with the voice of a vengeful Egyptian God explain away the fact that he is dressed entirely in white fighting in the darkness. Spector wants to be seen, he is a vision of terror to the criminal underworld, spreading the gospel of Konshu.

Violent, insane and self-destructive, Moon Knight dresses head-to-toe in blinding white so that his prey can see him descending from the sky like a furious specter. While he does share some similarities with DC Comics’ Batman, it’s clear to see that Moon Knight is much further off the reservation.

Moon Knight has had many iterations over the years. In 2014, warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey revived the character in a bizarre street-level horror/suspense anthology series. The approach clicked and while I was reticent to accept a version of the vigilante who had tossed aside his costume for a white suit… it kinda fits. A fan-made movie condenses the first five issues of the series and (while it does have a very awkward ‘rap’ moment), it is worth a look.

The latest version of Moon Knight is absolutely amazing. It began with Spector in an insane asylum straight out of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest which I found questionable but has quickly developed into something far more outlandish and unsettling than I could imagine.
I have no doubt that Marvel is eyeing Moon Knight as a contender for their next streaming series alongside Iron Fist and The Punisher. It’s just a matter of time before the Fist of Konshu gets his comeuppance.

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This phrase, popularized in the second Captain America film, The Winter Soldier , is making front page news across the country. For the initiated, Hydra is an evil terrorist organization that first appeared back in 1965. While James Bond and MI6 had ‘Spectre,’ Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. had Hydra. These guys were so evil that they creeped out the Nazis.

In recent years, Hydra has been presented in comics and in film/tv as an organization so insidious that it had secretly infiltrated certain aspects of government over a long game tracking back to its inception on WWII. As of this week, that infestation has spread to the star-spangled Avenger Captain America.

The fate of a fictional character is making front page news. That means one of two things, America is a very sad place where pop culture icons are more important than actual news involving real people in actual places… or these cultural icons are important.

As a cynic, I’m torn. I want to brush the dust off my shoulders and stand tall with my imaginary degree of comic book lore, stating that these ‘funny books’ actually mean something and have a direct impact on our culture… but I’m also frustrated by two things; one is that it is indeed not as important as real news pieces which could uncover insidious deeds or help those in need and there are far more people today with opinions on Captain America than there were yesterday. And they are not buying the comic book.

I have a pretty basic rule when it comes to these things; if you want to play along, you pay admission. I’m down to talk about comics with almost anyone, but my pet peeve is the uninformed angry person on the street with maybe a t-shirt and a dvd supporting their interest and a vague memory of the character. This happens all the time and it always annoys me. If you want to get outraged, join in, read the book and have an informed opinion rather than just outrage.

Upset about Blue Beetle’s death? Why didn’t you buy *one* of his comics. Furious over Spider-Man’s new status quot? Why does your collection stop at 1996? Personally pained over Batman’s death? Well… get in line.

Strangely, Nick Spencer, current writer of both Captain America: Sam Wilson and the newly released Captain America: Steve Rogers series (as well as the hit series Morning Glories), is all a-flutter with the attention and assures readers that there is more to come.

Via the Daily Beast:

When you decide to do something like this, you understand obviously that people aren’t gonna throw you a party for it. You understand that this is the kind of story designed to upset people and shock people and worry people. That’s the response you’re supposed to have to something like this, when you’re seeing a bad thing. So, yeah, this is certainly the kind of response I expected, but in terms of the magnitude of it and just how many people are chiming in, that part’s unreal. That surpassed any expectation that I had.

I think it just comes down to [the fact that] this character, particularly since the movies, has really exploded in popularity. Obviously he represents a lot to a lot of people. They’re emotionally invested, which is good. The worst thing that could have happened today is people shrugging, or even being reasonable. That would’ve said that we didn’t stick the landing on it. So this is what we wanted, we just have even more of it than we imagined.

we’ve been holding onto this for about 16 months now, so it’s been well over a year that we’ve been keeping this under wraps. And that was a hugely gratifying thing, especially in the last couple of months as we started work on the issue. There’s an artist drawing it [Jesús Saiz] and a letterer [Joe Caramagna], and you start to worry because obviously the book is getting passed through a lot of hands and there’s something tangible out there that can get leaked. So yeah, I mean all the credit in the world goes to Tom and everyone at Marvel, they really went above and beyond to keep a lid on this. They took a lot of special measures that we’ve never had before—and it worked! We managed to keep this until it started leaking out last night, which was inevitable because that’s when the book started arriving at various places. But yeah, it was a big success. I was really surprised. I thought for sure it would be ruined.

One of the first things most people will probably think is, “But hasn’t he spent the last 75 years fighting Hydra?” How do you reconcile the twist with the character’s history?

I can’t say a lot on that front, but what I can say is that that is not a huge point of concern in the story. That question will be answered, at least for the most part, in the next issue. That wasn’t something that we wanted to drag out. We wanted to make that stuff as clear as we could upfront. So now that we’ve gotten the big surprise, we’re going to go back and explain some things to you so that you, as a reader, have a much clearer vantage point. But your vantage point may differ greatly from the characters in the Marvel universe.

There’s a lot of uproar online about how this storyline insults the legacies of Captain America’s Jewish creators, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon.

Look, everybody who’s working on this story loves Captain America. I know that it may not seem like it today. But this book is edited by Tom Brevoort, who has been protecting this character’s legacy for a very long time now. He’s not gonna let me do anything that he thinks is going to endanger that character’s legacy and how the character is perceived. It’s always difficult when you’re at this point in a story, because you don’t just wanna tell people, “Everything’s gonna work out great!” Because that certainly may not be the case here. But what I think I can say with confidence is that with this story, our intention and our hope is that in its own unique way, it reinforces what everybody already knows about Captain America, which is his power as a symbol and what that means. We are approaching it from a different angle, but I think it illuminates the character in a way that we’ve never seen before.

It’s always tough. The eternal divide is the reader wants the character to succeed, to be happy, to win. Our job is often to put the characters through things and that can often be mistaken for a lack of respect or care for the character. It’s just the reality of what draws people into these stories, whether you realize it or not, and this is going to be a major test for a lot of characters in the Marvel universe.
(read more here)

So there you have it from the guy who is actually writing the book that has earned him death threats and the ire of millions of lapsed comic book fans across the globe, suddenly invested in a character they had forgotten about until yesterday.

Oh, and on that other thing bouncing around the Twittersphere? Nick Spencer had some diplomatic words for the Captain America’s boyfriend movement.

Have you been watching the #GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend campaign unfold?

Yeah. I think the only thing I can say there is it speaks to people’s passion for the character. Which probably isn’t much of an answer, but people strongly identify with these characters, they’re strongly invested in these characters’ lives, and I think that this is a reflection of that energy.

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As fans across the nation (it already premiered overseas) await the release of the latest superhero epic, Captain America: Civil War, I thought it would be a good opportunity to look back to a simpler time when comic books were not looked upon as fodder for mega blockbusters. To a time when they were quickly forgotten TV movies of the week. To a time when the Hoff was Nick Fury.

At the time, Hasselhoff was in a position to reinvent himself, to a degree (keep in mind, this was Baywatch era Hoff) and acting as a tough-as-nails action hero sorta suits him. Even with the extremely limited resources, the TV movie is pretty good. It’s faithful to the source material (something fans complain about even in the face of the super successful feature films) down to the characters and vehicle designs. Aside from some cringe-worthy performances, the cast is pretty good too. And, it may be the headaches caused by eyestrain, but David Hasselhoff makes a picture perfect Nick Fury.

Nick Fury by Lee Weeks

So while we sit in the comfy recliner or stadium seats tonight (or maybe later this weekend), enjoying a scintillating display of computer graphics, brilliant cinematography and high octane acting, remember that this torch was carried by so many during a time when no one… *NO ONE* cared for the silly books. And yet, some tried to do them justice. Yes… even the Hoff (and Rex Smith, too… I guess).

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The first wave of films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe established a rich history of science fiction, fantasy, high adventure and history. Marvel is now ushering in its latest wave with an exploration into the realm of magic with the sorcerer supreme, Doctor Strange.

One of the founding members of the interconnected Marvel comic book world, Doctor Strange began as the central star in a horror-themed suspenseful component of the Strange Tales comic. Whenever a lost and damaged soul found themselves facing a problem too dangerous and otherworldly for anyone else, they would visit a spooky house that appeared to only be partially visible and ask for the assistance of Doctor Strange. The guardian of our realm of reality against the dark forces of the beyond, Doctor Strange battled monsters and forces far outside of human knowledge.

But his beginnings were far more humble and tragic. The upcoming blockbuster film stars Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, co-starring Chiwetel Ejiofo as Baron Mordo, Mads Mikkelsen as the main villain Kaecilius and Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. Directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) with a script by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus), the movie will serve as the first glimpse into yet another facet of the dynamic and colorful world of Marvel Comics.

The arrogant and selfish Stephen Strange was a gifted surgeon who only used his gifts for personal gain. So brash is Strange that he smokes (again) in the operating room! After cannily finagling a business deal out of what should have been pro bono work, Strange is involved in a horrible car accident that robs him of his talented hands. Refusing to be anything but a brilliant surgeon, Strange spends all of his money foolishly attempting to heal his hands with no success. Strange ends up a vagrant, hopelessly wandering the streets until he hears of the ‘Ancient One’ who may hold some solution in far off Tibet.

Strange manages to find his way to the far off land and also to the home of the Ancient One but still has not learned humility. In the home of the wise seer, he meets the Ancient One’s pupil, Baron Mordo… who is definitely evil. Mordo has plans for the Ancient One that will result in him stealing the old man’s power from him, leaving Mordo as the Sorcerer Supreme. Strange elects to stay on in order to somehow stop Mordo. Somehow Strange side-steps learning humility to discovering that the energy fueling his immense ego can instead be transferred to something akin to courage. – Via DP Quick Review in 2010

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After a long wait and a extra issue,Secret Wars 9 came out and finished the long “epic event” that Jonathan Hickman had started nearly four years earlier in the pages of Avengers and New Avengers. This article is not so much a review of the event but all of the things in Hickman’s run. This was supposed to be a conclusion to all of the story threads that he had begun from Avengers and New Avengers in the last three years. However it left many unanswered questions plus quite a few continuity problems. This paper has a twofold approach. I will try to address the unanswered questions that Avengers and Secret Wars have left unanswered and it will also ask how they are related to questions in terms of the continuity of past stories. First I will start with the Beyonders.

1. Beyonders

It was revealed at the start of Secret Wars that the Beyonders were the cause of the Incursions that were destroying the multiverse. They used the Molecule Man as a “bomb”, to destroy each timeline in which he exists. In essence their plane was to destroy the multiverse. This leads to to two unanswered questions. First and most importantly,why did the Beyonders want to destroy the multiverse? Given that this is what started the entire story,it is the most significant unanswered question in the series. Yet we are never given any motive or background about these enigmatic creatures. Secondly do the Beyonders exist outside of the multiverse? If they do, then where?

1.2 Continunity Questions

The Beyonders were originally created by the late Mark Grunewald in Marvel Two in One. They used the alien race called the Spihinxtors to take away Counter Earth from the High Evolutionary. One gets the impression that the editors wanted to get rid of Counter Earth and created the Beyonders as plot device to remove a unwanted piece of the Marvel Universe out of continuity.

The Beyonders were next mentioned in Steve Engleheart’s run on the Fantastic Four. It was first discovered that they created the Savage Land with the help of the alien race called the Nuwali. Why they chose to do this was unexplained. Technically they seemed obsessed with Earth for some reason. There motives are however vague. Here was a chance to explain a loose thread in continuity that was never addressed. Hickman never cleared these points up. It is true that neither of these stories were his but a story this long could have taken the time to tell us more. In Fantastic Four 319 is always revealed that the Beyonders were the creators of the Cosmic Cubes that exist in the Marvel Universe. Which leads us to part 2.

2. Molecule Man and the Cosmic Cube

2.1 Cosmic Cubes

Cosmic Cubes existed in the Marvel Universe since the days of Lee and Kirby. The origin was not explained or at least retconned until the story mentioned above. The cubes can develop sentience and evolve in living creatures. This has happened before. Three times. First there is the Shaper of Worlds who developed from a Kree made cosmic cube. He and his assistant Glorian have appeared a number of times. Their whereabouts are explained in Silver Surfer 13-15 by Dan Slott and Mike Allred. There is also another being who is unaccounted for. His name is Kubik. Kubik evolved from a Cube that was created by the organization known as AIM. The character has not been seen in this story. In fact he has not appeared since Fantastic Four Annual 27 according to Marvel Wiki. The significance of this character lies with the Beyonder and the Molecule Man.

2.2 Molecule Man

The Molecule Man’s origins were retconned in 319. There it was explained that his power was from half of a Cosmic Cube. The power of the other half was in a entity called the Beyonder. Judging by the way he has been written by Hickman in this event, the Molecule Man is more like the Shaper of Worlds. Someone with vast power who needs someone to direct it because he cannot use it himself. Technically this is a change from what readers were told before. This leads us to a discussion of a entity called the Beyonder.

3 The Beyonder

The Beyonder was originally a character created by Jim Shooter for the the first two Secret Wars events. This recent event was named for those stories. Originally he was a powerful alien who existed in his own dimension, this was changed in the retcon as described above. After that story the Beyonder took on a new form as Kosmos and Kubik became his mentor. This was seen in Fantastic Four 25 and 26. Sometime later Kosmos/Beyonder appeared again using the name Maker. This was in Thanos 8-10. In these issues we find that the Maker/Beyonder was incarcerated at a prison called the Kyln after committing violent crimes against the Shiar Empire for reasons the Maker itself did not understand. The character Oracle had tried to psychically shut down the mind of Beyonder/Maker. We also learn that the Maker has taken over the prison and does not remember his/her identity. Thanos eventually defeats her and psychically erases Beyonder/Makers. Thanos explains that though the mind is erased the essence and or energy of the Beyonder still exists inside the body. And that energy must be contained within it.

Later in the Annihilliation Event the Kyln is destroyed. Thanos sends the Skreet to go back and check if the body is alive. It is. This was in Silver Surfer Annihilation issue 3. That is the last time the Beyonder was seen in physical form. According to the Secret Wars 2015 Handbook the Beyonder is a “child Unit”. This is consistent with the earlier story in 319. However the connection between Molecule Man, his powers and the Beyonder has yet to be mentioned. We could assume that Kubik and the Shaper were lying to them. But then what was their motive? The point is that if the Beyonder/Maker’s power is part of or linked with Molecule Man then it must be explained how it relates to the plans the Beyonders had for the Molecule Man. There is also the unanswered question of why the Beyonder chose to take on mortal form again. Though that is not directly related to the issues of the Secret Wars.

The link between these characters is something that should have been explained.

Jonathan Hickman introduced a new alien race to the Marvel Universe called the Builders. The are alleged to be the oldest race of beings in the universe. They also supervise or destroy other races that they see as troublesome. The Builders believed that Earth was such a race. Earth is the source of the incursions mentioned before. This leads to the first unanswered question. How did they know this? It was not explained in the story. The other problem is the relationship between the Builders and the Captain Universe power. They say the Captain Universe force was the founder of their race. The Problem with this is that the Captain Universe power is currently originating from the Microverse. This shown as far back as Micronauts V1 31,and 35. The power itself originates from the Sword in the Star. The only way this can be consistent is if the Sword in the Star is the founder of the race. Finally what the fate of the Builders was both during and after Hickman’s Secret Wars is unclear. They have not been mentioned again.

4.2 Builders, New Universe, Captain Universe and the White Event.

The New Universe was reinvented by writer Warren Ellis in the Marvel series, New Universal. A White Event occurs that bestows people with superpowers. The powers originate from the Superflow. The Superflow exists outside of the ordinary Mutliverse. When the event occurs it gives four different people four specific powers. These are the Starbrand, Nightmask, Cipher, and Justice power. In the current storyline Hickman has only shown the first two of these. The latter have yet to appear. Furthermore he has tied the origin of the Superflow and these powers with the Builders. Consistent with this in Avengers vol 5 6. we learn the Captain Universe force is related to this power. The current recipient of the Captain Universe power translates the Nightmask’s speech. She explains that they are part of the same force. This makes sense since it was the founder of the Builders who now control the Superflow. However it was not explained further.

There is a way to connect the history of the Captain Universe/Enigma Force with the powers in the New Universal powers. If Marvel is interested in how to do this they can contact me. It will not be explained in this paper.

There are a few other unanswered questions that need to be addressed. Do the Celestials still exist? What about the living Tribunal and other abstract entities that were said to be destroyed by the Beyonders. Do we still have a mutliverse? And if we do,then in what ways does it differ from the Multiverse we had before this event? Perhaps some might think that expecting all those pieces to be put together seems to be asking too much. However remember that A) This was supposed to be the event reshaped Marvel Continuity the way Crisis on Infinite Earths did with DC Comics and that B) Marvel had nearly 3 years and over 80 some issues in which to tell this story.

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Short and feisty, the claw-wielding killing machine from the Great White North started small in the pages of the Incredible Hulk (a joint creation by Len Wein, Herb Trimpe and John Romita Sr). When the ailing X-Men comic book was revived by Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, Wolverine was introduced and a legend was born. Cockrum fleshed out Wolverine, but it was during John Byrne’s run as co-writer and artist that he saw a rise in popularity during a violent outburst (colored in all red) that made the book sales soar. A fan favorite character, Wolverine evoked the gritty attitude of the “man’s man” 70’s and 80’s action heroes.

Later, Chris Claremont and Frank Miller would add distinguishing characteristics to the Wolverine in a four part solo adventure set in Japan, making him a blend of rugged bruiser and a noble warrior. There have been many additions and revisions since, but this remains the boiler plate for the Wolverine.

Sideshow Collectibles has developed a Sixth Scale Figure of Wolverine that is every bit as mean-looking and deadly as the comic book mutant.

Ok, so while he may not actually be laced with adamantium, Logan is more than ready to let the claws come out. Meticulously crafted on an all-new muscular body design with two pairs of beefy arms, multiple swap-out hands, and a full range of articulation. Fitted in a fantastically tailored tactical version of his classic brown and tan costume, ol’ Canucklehead comes with both masked and unmasked head sculpts, each channeling his unbridled berserker rage. To further honor his impressive legacy, we’ve also included the legendary Muramasa blade, a key weapon from Wolverine mythos.

So what are you waiting for, Bub? If you’re looking for the ultimate Wolverine, let there be no doubt – he’s the best there is!

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The comic book/superhero film is currently an entire industry rather than a niche market or a film commonly filed under science fiction. While it can be said that Sony’s Spider-Man broke new ground in the genre when it was released in 2002, the first X-Men film (released in 2000) introduced an entire ensemble of superheroes who lived in a unique ever-expanding universe. The result was a smashing hit and an explosive interest in comic book movies followed. The world of mutants became such a hit that several sequels and spin-offs carried the trend throughout the 21st Century, making the X-Men concept feel as fresh and new as it had back in September of 1963.

Hugh Jackman has played the deadly mutant in seven films (if you include his cameo in X-Men: First Class). His eighth outing is said to be the last time he will play The Wolverine and it’s sure to be knock-out. No one actor has appeared as the same superhero in as many films as Jackman has, so it is only fitting that he receive a special send-off.

Heavily rumored as an inspiration for Wolverine III is Old Man Logan, a multi-part story by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven that ran through the monthly Wolverine comic. The story is gritty and violent, set in a dystopian world of debris in which many of the heroes are dead while the villains control the country. Logan himself refuses to unsheathe his claws, still traumatized from a fit of rage that killed his closest friends. When he takes up a job with the blind archer formerly known as Hawkeye to earn some much-needed money, Logan begins a road trip across the once colorful battle-ravaged wasteland.

Since much of Old Man Logan borrows from properties currently owned by Sony and Marvel/Disney, I’m not sure how this movie would faithfully adapt the comic book. Even if Fox and Marvel came to an agreement that allowed them to share universes (which is the only way this film could be made), it’s still such a base and spiteful story (if they adapt Millar’s comic beat for beat). I like parts of Old Man Logan, but it gets a bit ‘Ennis-Punisher’ for me in the end as it’s a series of filthy gags.

All that said… it would be an unforgettable knuckle-duster of a movie.

At this point every comic book fan knows that the next Wolverine Movie is based on highly successful comic book plot “OLD MAN LOGAN”, which will bring to us weary Wolverine in a post-apocalyptic Marvel universe. Hugh Jackman has already started pitching for this movie by confirming that the fans are going to witness the legendary “Berserker Rage”. The only Wolverine movie that has thoroughly let down the fans was “Wolverine Origins”, it was really a drag, you know what? Let’s not even go there. At this point, the production houses are pitching the script to really good actors for the pivotal roles in the Movie. Marvel is maintaining complete secrecy about the plot, but Hugh Jackman has subtly confirmed that the movie is going to be about Aged Wolverine. After you guys look at the considered actors for the movie, you will get a clear idea that Wolverine 3 is going to be about OLD MAN LOGAN!

During the recent X-Men: Apocalypse panel at the San Diego Comic-Con, Jackman surprised everyone by saying “Old Man Logan” to the audience without confirming that it’s going to be his movie’s storyline. He simply said, “take from it what you will,” before moving out of the panel to give way to the next batch of X-Men actors.

In an interview with Collider, writer/producer Simon Kinberg gives us more insight into the third Wolverine solo movie including a hint that we may be seeing Millar and McNiven’s masterpiece story make it to the big screen.

We’re pretty close to a script that everyone’s excited about, and I don’t know when the start date is, but we won’t start until it’s ready to shoot. What Hugh said to you is the attitude we all have—myself, Lauren Shuler Donner, the studio, [director] James Mangold, Hutch Parker—all of us, feel like this is six or seven or eight (depending on how you count) movies in the making, and there are few characters in the history of cinema who have cast as big a shadow as Wolverine, so to tell the final chapter of that story, it has to be the best, and it has to have a mythic quality to it. So we have to get it right, and I think we will, and my experience working with Jim Mangold, I’ve been extraordinarily impressed with him. He’s just a really great storyteller; he’s incredible with character. Really diligent, just a special talent. I have very high hopes for that movie.

I can’t talk about what it [the story] is, but I will say that in its essence it’s something that Hugh has been excited about for a while, and something James Mangold is incredibly excited about, and the two of them together is a pretty neat thing to watch having made a movie together, and I thought they made a pretty good one. They just have a shorthand fluency and trust. It’s really nice to watch.

Movie poster by Bosslogix

The still untitled third Wolverine film currently has a March 3, 2017 release date.

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